A win Tuesday night would have brought the Bucks within half a game of the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in the playoff push. Now, they find themselves two and a half back of a three-way tie between Boston, Atlanta and the Chicago Bulls for the No. 5 seed.

And while Jim Boylan and his staff have probably compiled a lengthy list of things the team must do, there are certainly some that are more imperative than others.

5. Bench Production

Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesJ.J. Redick has been a consistent scorer off the bench.

In Milwaukee's loss to Washington on Wednesday, J.J. Redick accounted for 16 of the 21 points the Bucks received off the bench. In order for them to remain competitive with the Heat, they'll need others to step up.

While Boylan's dispersal of minutes has been questionable at times this year, whoever gets playing time will need to do their share and more.

John Henson had 17 points and 18 rebounds in the team's 113-106 loss to the Heat back in November. If the Bucks can get half of that from a bench player not named Redick on Friday, they'll be competitive.

And while he's started three of the last four games due to an injury to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, production from Mike Dunleavy—who was scoreless against the Wizards—is essential.

Assuming Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings play to the level they're capable of, Milwaukee's bench may be the reason they have a chance.

Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier are all capable of hitting big shots. If those three are knocking down their looks, things can get messy in a hurry.

In a November loss, the Bucks allowed Chalmers, Allen and the rest of Miami's bench to score a combined 33 points. In a blowout win in December, they allowed just 20 bench points and took Allen out of the equation.

The chances of James and Wade at least hitting their averages is high. It sounds silly to say—as they're two of the best—but the Bucks must make them win the game and not allow secondary players to.

Miami is such a great team that it's easier said than done, but preventing role players from having an impact might be one of the deciding factors.

1. Brandon Jennings

Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesJennings cannot be complacent if the Bucks want to win.

Who would want to face the Miami Heat this postseason?

It seems like a preposterous question to even ask, but there's at least one guy that does: Brandon Jennings.

Just last week, Jennings admitted his desire to play the defending champions in the first round to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"The two games that we played Miami so far, we matched up well against them," Jennings said. "If you ask me, that's who I would want to play first round, Miami.

"Just the fact over the years, a lot of the games have gone down to the wire with us and Miami. Right now we haven't really played well against the Knicks. I just feel better if we play Miami first round, just the fact we have good games against them.

"I don't know if it's because they're the champs or what, but we always play harder against Miami."

And while the playoffs are a little more than a month away, Jennings is going to get the opportunity to backup some of his comments on Friday.

In order for that to happen, he'll need to be the Brandon Jennings that emerged for a five-game stretch earlier this month. During that run, he averaged 19.2 points and 13.2 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from behind the three-point line.

Not only that, but he'll need to make a commitment to defense and not let Mario Chalmers get easy points at the rim.

If the Jennings from the past two games shows up, the Bucks are in trouble. But with the aforementioned comments lingering in the background, one has to think he'll turn it up a notch.